Passengers at Manchester Airport have the shortest wait for their luggage, but you'll be hovering by the carousels for half-an-hour at Gatwick

Travellers arriving at Manchester Airport have the shortest wait for their luggage at the baggage carousel - but passengers at Gatwick aren't so lucky.

When it comes to delivering luggage to the terminal quickly, Manchester Airport comes out on top, taking on average 16 minutes and 15 seconds, according to passengers questioned for a new poll.

But you could be waiting on average 33 minutes and 21 seconds for your bags at London Gatwick.

Hanging around: The worst-performing airport for delivering baggage to the terminal on time, according to travellers, was Gatwick

The research, carried out by luggage delivery company SendmyBag.com found that Manchester, Birmingham and London City airports also had short waiting times for luggage, taking second, third and fourth place on the list of speedy baggage delivery.

And the top five was rounded off by Aberdeen Airport, where the average waiting time according to travellers was 19 minutes 33 seconds.

But London's two principal airports didn't fair for well. While Gatwick recorded the longest average waiting time, Heathrow passengers said they waited an average 29 minutes 29 seconds - placing it in third place for the longest waiting times.

TOP FIVE AIRPORTS FOR SPEEDING BAGGAGE DELIVERY...

1. Manchester Airport – 16 mins 15 secs

2. Birmingham Airport – 17 mins 49 secs

3. London City Airport – 18 mins 13 secs

4. East Midlands Airport – 18 mins 52 secs

5. Aberdeen Airport – 19 mins 33 secs

AND THE FIVE WORST-PERFORMING AIRPORTS...

1. Gatwick Airport – 33 mins 21 secs

2. Edinburgh Airport – 31 mins 47 secs

3. Heathrow Airport – 29 mins 29 secs

4. Liverpool John Lennon – 28 mins 51 secs

5. Bristol Airport – 27 mins 02 secs

Edinburgh Airport took second place behind Gatwick for long waits, while Liverpool John Lennon Airport and Bristol Airport also made it into the top five.

All respondents to the survey said that they had checked luggage and had gone straight to the baggage carousel after going through passport control, as opposed to stopping for a toilet break.

Initially all respondents were asked to state which UK airport they had arrived at most recently within the past 12 months, as well as stating how long it took from them arriving at the baggage carousel direct from the plane for the carousel to start bringing out passengers’ luggage.

Speedy service: The best airports for baggage delivery were Manchester, Birmingham and London City

When all the results were collated, the average wait time from arriving at the baggage carousel to the bags coming through was revealed to be 21 minutes.

All respondents were then asked ‘Baggage
carousels aside, what do you consider to be the most time consuming
aspect of the airport experience in the UK?’

A third (33 per cent) stated ‘security/customs’, while 27 per cent chose 'check in’ and 21 per cent said boarding the aircraft were the most time-consuming aspects of travelling through an airport.

Adam Ewart, founder of SendmyBag.com, said: 'Airports
are constantly upping their targets to be the quickest and the best around, however it’s not always possible. Something might
happen that throws a spanner in the works and causes delays, such as if a
bag gets stuck somewhere or temporarily lost.

'It’s
important to bear in mind that our research is based on the memories of
Britons who have used various airports around the UK, but hopefully
these airports will take our results into consideration and up their
game.'